Someone has discovered the great outdoors.

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After a few weeks of totally avoiding the windows….

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Our little guy has discovered the joy of squirrels.

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And since it wasn’t the resident red bitch, I didn’t even wish it ill.

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This brave grey fellow was positively taunting Lord Dudley.

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And manic cackling ensued.

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The afternoon ended with a flock of wild turkeys….

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And I think it’s safe to say the great outdoors will now be providing hours of feline entertainment.

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Well that was (not) fun.

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When your roof is leaking in the middle of a Maine winter and you have no idea why…. there’s really only one solution.

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You chip the ice and snow from around the door, set up a ladder….

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Climb up on the roof where you have to chip away more snow and ice…

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And lay a giant ass tarp. ( We’ll be the envy of all our neighbors now, so stylish! ) Then if you’re my husband, you leave a large part of it flapping in the corner.

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What?

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With a storm moving in, I had to fight him to secure the damn thing before it blew halfway to the next county.

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One little string, through one little grommet was all he would do.

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The snow came, turned to rain and miraculously the roof didn’t leak. But we’re due for strong winds in a few days so things are apt get interesting.

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Pandemic humor.

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Because Covid isn’t funny… but we still need to laugh.

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Guess the conspiracy theorists were right after all.

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For anyone who has ever been owned by a cat, you know this is true.

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If only…

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Geesh. How bad do you suppose it has to get?

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It’s been almost a year since we traveled.

A year! That just doesn’t seem possible.

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Okay, on second thought ….I guess we don’t have it so bad after all.

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Time Traveler Part five

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I started it… and I’m entirely too anal not to finish it.

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Skimming this section of words added to the dictionary in the year of my birth made me chortle.

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Pogonophoran?

I admit I had to look that up, and now I’m quite sorry I did.

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That’s the stuff of nightmares right there.

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Ska and snarf. Thank you Time Traveler for two excellent Scrabble words with which to whip my husband this weekend.

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But… support hose! Jesus. Are we really that old? Let’s take a test.

Does shirtless Ryan Gosling still get your motor running?

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Nope, not too old.

😉

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Thwap.

While I knew this word described a slapping sound, in the interest of finding the correct definition for my readers I searched the web.

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You can thank me later.

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Dudley update.

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It took almost 3 weeks, but our new boy is settling in nicely and less skittish every day.

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Loud noises like the snow plow still send him under the bed … and the jury is still out on exterior wonders. He spied wild turkeys in the backyard the other day and growled from under the couch for 5 minutes straight.

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But he’s learning to trust us and coming out of his shell. Toys help, and I’ve retrieved that fuzzy ball from under the furniture enough times to require another visit to the orthopedist.

I think it’s safe to say I’m in love.

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Even my girlfriend recognized how much having a little guy around the house again means and sent a congratulations card.

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Dudley loves his squeaky mouse, but not when we wave the stick…. so I rigged up a do it yourself playground.

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I’m sure he’s grateful, though he doesn’t look it.

It should be noted that while I love dogs and all their slobbering appreciation? There’s something about the utter disdain cats show their humans which speaks to me.

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Of icicles, shots and cats.

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Our resident projectile has melted halfway, split and refrozen.

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47 inches and still anxiously awaiting an unsuspecting red squirrel to wander by.

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In other news…. my husband received his first Covid vaccine shot this week. Yay! No side effects other than a slightly sore arm for a day or two, though we’ve heard most people are experiencing flu like symptoms after the second shot.

Shots.

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Sorry, that’s where my mind went.

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Lord Dudley Mountcatten is starting to get used to having his picture taken.

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But that doesn’t mean he enjoys it.

Yikes. If looks could kill…

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Love was in the air.

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A rather tardy Valentines Day post.

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A bouquet of flowers was delivered that morning….

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And while I don’t think it was our local florist’s best work, the sentiment remained steadfast.

Early afternoon found us out in the barn and back at the Scrabble board.

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Although the way it started reminded me a little too much of Bill and Monica.

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Did I win?

Such a silly question.

Unbeknownst to my husband, I’d made early evening reservations at one of his favorite restaurants and before the place got too crowded, we slipped in for a glorious meal.

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Long stemmed red roses were given to ladies upon entry… and petals were scattered everywhere. On the floor, on the window sills, on the chairs…..

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Even under the beer taps.

We settled happily at the bar (the husband’s preferred spot because one of the bartenders was a Marine which can lead to hours long conversations) and I tucked into a few delightful Rum Punches. We had appetizers that I forgot to photograph… garlic Parmesan wings for the husband, creamy clam chowder for me… and were awaiting our meals when this older couple sat down across from us.

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In case you can’t see it, the man was wearing a Marine Corps tee shirt. It was at that moment I knew I was doomed.

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Like recognizes like… and within minutes the gentleman uttered the words I never want to hear on Valentines Day.

Semper Fi.

My husband bought them a round of drinks. They bought us a round of drinks. Military stories were traded across the bar….and by the time our lovely meals arrived?

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Filet Oscar with fresh lobster, roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus for the husband.

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Filet au Poivre with cremini mushroom brandied cream sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus for me…

I’d lost him.

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And ended up eating most of my meal alone.

So when I said love was in the air?

Apparently I was talking about the Corps.

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